Better
by ChocoholicMonkeyfish
Summary: Just a short look at what might happen when all of Brandon's decisions come back to haunt him. Brandon-centric with just a hint of Brallie. xx


A/N: Never have I wanted to punch a fictional character in the face so badly. Brandon just did so many stupid things in last week's episode and that's what inspired me to write this. Hope you like it, and please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fosters or its characters, I just like to yell at them through my TV.

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Brandon was very aware of the fact that he was an idiot. That didn't stop his family from reminding him of this however. He had done a lot of stupid things over the past few months - many of them illegal - and the worst of it had come out tonight. Everyone had already known that he'd told Talya about his and Callie's relationship; Talya had made sure of that. There was no one else for them to get in trouble with over that, but it definitely hadn't made his or Callie's lives at school any easier. He could really care less about what his classmates thought of him, but he knew that it had hurt Callie and for that he hated himself.

He had gotten busted for the fake IDs months ago and luckily because he had come forward and told Lena before things went too far - and because he hadn't actually been the one selling them - he had managed to escape any legal trouble. But with two parents who were cops and another that was the VP he had received several lectures on just how disappointed they were in him before ultimately being put under house arrest. His dad drove him to school every morning, Lena would drive him home after and the only other places he was allowed to go were the house and to his piano lessons which his dad had somehow managed to get him back into - he didn't even want to know how much that had cost. On top of everything else he had also received a three day suspension for breaking into school after hours; something that Lena loved to remind him was now officially on his permanent record.

He had stupidly kept to himself just how inappropriate Dani was with him. At first he'd thought that she was just overly friendly and he didn't want to piss off his dad more by making accusations against his girlfriend. So he'd kept it to himself until the night they were all celebrating his dad's 90 days of sobriety when Dani had gotten drunk and tried to kiss him in front of everyone. His dad had been heartbroken and Callie had looked like she couldn't decide whether to attack the woman or throw up. He'd waged a similar debate himself. Meanwhile his moms had made him out to be a victim, labeling Dani as some kind of predator - really he was more disgusted than traumatized - while his younger siblings had accused him of having another inappropriate relationship with someone in the family. It had taken several days and a detailed account of every awkward moment he'd experienced before they'd finally believed him.

Until tonight things had actually been going well. He'd managed to fly under the radar mostly as his moms were preoccupied with Mariana and Jesus' latest drama, and his dad and he had decided to try and put the whole thing behind them. They had come over to the house tonight for dinner and everything had been fine until there was a knock on the front door. As soon as he'd seen her he'd known that this night was not going to end well for him. Ana stood in their doorway, a smile on her face. She was clean and sober, she claimed, and hoped that she might be able to see her children. His mom was instantly on the warpath, telling the twins' birth mother that she had no right to be in their home and that this was neither the time nor place for this discussion. Lena had tried to usher everyone back into the kitchen while Stef started to close the door in Ana's face and Brandon had hoped that that would be the end of it. Reaching out her hand to stop the door Ana had opened her mouth and put the final nail in his coffin.

"Before I go, I just want to give this to Brandon. It's not all of it but I will get the rest and pay you back. You have no idea how much it meant to me." She'd held out a wad of cash, looking at him with a timid smile. He'd walked across the silent entryway and took the money from her, quickly shoving it into his pocket and shifting his gaze to his feet. As much as he wished she'd never said anything he couldn't find it in himself to be mad at her. Deep down he'd always known that this would come back to bite him in the ass.

With one last smile Ana had turned and walked away from the house as his mom slammed the door behind her. After that all he remembered was shouting; first his dad and then his mom and Lena and finally Jesus and Mariana. They had all screamed over top of each other, all looking for answers but not giving him the chance to give any. Jude had stood off to the side glaring at him but saying nothing and Brandon hadn't been able to bring himself to look at Callie's reaction. Just as quickly as it had started the shouting stopped and all eyes were on him waiting for him to speak. His throat burned and his eyes stung as he'd looked at the angry faces of his family not wanting to tell them just how badly he had screwed up this time. In barely more than a whisper he'd confirmed their suspicions telling them about his meeting with Ana, about what he'd said and the money that he'd given her.

He didn't wait around to hear what they had to say, pushing past everyone and running out the back door. His knees had sunk into the soft grass as his legs gave out and he let the tears fall. He'd expected someone to follow him and continue scolding him but it was several minutes before he heard the back door close and soft footsteps making their way towards him. Callie sat down next to him and instead of keeping her distance as they had been trying so hard to do, she pressed her body into his side and grabbed his hand. She didn't say anything, letting them both soak up this moment, and he quickly wiped at his eyes with his sleeve before glancing up at her. Her eyes were sad but there was no trace of disappointment which he was extremely grateful for.

"I know what it's like to be angry at the world and to think that you can handle it all on your own - trust me I understand that. But, that's not you Brandon. The world isn't always fair, it's just not, but it needs people like you. People who have hope and who believe that everything will work out in the end. Please don't lose that guy that I know is still in there. I miss him." She hesitated before finally leaning in and placing a lingering kiss on his cheek before disappearing back into the house.

Brandon had done a lot of stupid things lately, but no matter what anyone said he refused to include falling in love with Callie in that category. And of course she is right; he barely recognizes himself anymore. He wants to believe that things will work out in the end but it's hard to think that way when every time one problem is solved another seems to pop up somewhere else. He knows that he has been a major part of that problem recently and now more than ever he's determined to stop. He has to do better; he has to be better. After another few minutes he's on his way back inside ready to face the consequences.

_Everything was going to be fine._

And for the first time in a long time he actually believed it.


End file.
